Conference: Poetic Philosophers and Philosophical Poets (Oct. 7-8)

Time: Fri Oct 7, 2016, All Day

Location: Notre Dame Conference Center, McKenna Hall

Poetic Philosophers and Philosophical Poets: The Relationship between Philosophy and Poetry in the Ancient World is a graduate student conference sponsored by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, the Department of Classics, the Workshop in Ancient Philosophy, and the Program in Liberal Studies on Friday and Saturday, October 7-8, 2016.

From the Pre-Socratic philosophers to the late antique Boethius, the ancient writers of the Mediterranean understood philosophy and poetry to be intricately connected. That is, poetry could be not only an aesthetically pleasing artistic medium to convey the tenets of one’s school, but also a device through which philosophical arguments could be constructed and supported in ways unavailable in prose. Our purpose in this conference is to examine both how and why philosophers employed poetry in their writings. Topics include, but are not restricted to:

How the use of poetry as a literary medium affects philosophical systems

Whether or not epic poets and philosophers share a common telos in their endeavors

Investigation of poetic texts that address philosophical themes, but are not generally regarded as philosophical

Use and abuse of archaic poetry by Classical and Hellenistic philosophers

Ancient doctrines of poetics and their implementation

How in-depth scholarly investigation of these texts through the lens of both philosophy and philology can improve our understanding of the author’s intentions